The Guidebook for Villainesses - chapter-166
Translator: Wawaa
Editor: WilsonWilson
38. Hell Corps
The herds of demonic beasts had nearly been wiped out after the first
battle, and the remnants had inhabited the central basin of the Gorgon
Mountains Range. Following their defeat, the black sorcerers have
gathered even more demonic beasts, and though the large amount they have
gathered proved to be advantageous, they had another reason to summon so
many of them; their unmatched destructive power when charging into their
opponent.
Whatsmore, the black sorcerers had succeeded in finding and casting a
spell on the king of the demonic beasts
The king was bigger than Lara’s wolf-type demonic beast. Until now, it
had rarely moved inside his own area within the mountain basin, but the
spell cast by the black sorcerers attracted it, making it express manic
anger towards the city of humans. Thousands of demonic beasts gushed out
flames and rushed to the ground. They were so powerful and speedy that
the hard ground was badly dug up.
The demon worshippers had also devised various tactics to avenge their
past defeat. They positioned the demonic beast king in the center of the
herds in case the demonic beasts fell into enemy traps. And in order to
prevent being hit by arrows, they used wooden boards and tough leather to
wrap around the demonic beasts’ vital points, effectively shielding
them from harm and preventing them from falling down. Thus, 10,000 demon
worshippers raised their weapons to take down Memoria City.
This time, too, a rain of iron arrows fell on the demonic beasts. The
heavy iron made a loud banging sound as it fell on the demonic beasts’
heads. Next were the traps. Just like the last battle, the Imperial Army
used traps to tie the demonic beast’s ankles together. However, this
time, they installed them in different locations. And instead of pits dug
to confine the demonic beasts, this time, the Imperial Army threw heavy
metal nets from the wooden barricades. When the nets trapped the demonic
beasts, arrows with anesthetic poisons were shot at them.
The bodies of the demonic beasts piled up on the battlefield. Memoria
City was still untouched.
“Your Imperial Majesty!”
“No… Not yet.”
The Emperor murmured. His gaze rested on the giant bull that led the pack
in the center of the herd.
A tremendous amount of heat escaped from its flaming horn. There was a
haze trailing after it as it ran, its body was at least twice the size of
other demonic beasts, and a dark red mane grew on its back and neck,
giving off a threatening aura.
“We must catch it.”
“And we shall carry out your orders forthwith.”
Said an old knight who was by the Emperor’s side. He was a knight who
had been by his side since the Emperor was a Crown Prince.
“This is our last allegiance to you, Your Imperial Majesty. We will
dedicate the beast’s neck to you, and then go back to our hometown to
farm potatoes.”
Gazing at the battlefield next to the Emperor, the elderly knight took
their weapons. The Emperor could not stop them, he could not even say of
their inevitable death awaiting them should they go. Though the old
knight said he would retire after capturing the demonic beast, it was no
different from saying that he would die with it.
“Imperial Secretary, put this into the records.”
The Emperor said.
“Today, the heroes of Tarragon will open the door to a great victory.”
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
“It must end in human victory.”
On his way out to the outskirts of the city to take down the black
sorcerers, Oscar recalled what Lara said to him. A demon lord who wished
for human victory, something like that could not even be used as a joke
anywhere.
“Where’s Demian?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you bring him with you?”
“He makes me feel shitty.”
“Why?”
“Demian doesn’t look like Demian and it’s bringing down my mood.”
Domino and Lampion chattered behind Oscar. They were talking about
Demian, who disappeared after suddenly growing his hair long and
performing a strange miracle.
“Demian is just Demian. What do you mean he doesn’t look like
himself?”
Domino burst out laughing. He could not talk much with Demian even after
he returned so he did not understand what Lampion meant.
“I feel even worse because he healed my arm. I’m very thankful, but I
feel like there’s no point in thanking him.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“It feels like being thankful to the sky when it’s raining.”
“What?”
“This is all because of our two-person trip. Numbers are bad luck! I
should have taken one more with me.”
Oscar went ahead and pretended to ignore Lampion’s words but was at a
loss for the goosebumps on his back. Lara’s words kept coming to his
mind. She said that Abraxas was embedded in Demian’s body, so should he
call him Demian or Abraxas?
“Demian has always been in charge of the black sorcerers.”
Dejected, Domino clicked his tongue.
Just in time, he felt a rumbling of demonic beasts running towards the
city. Even though they were on a mountain, the stompings of the demonic
beasts felt like the vibrations of an earthquake. The Barbarians lowered
their posture and put their guard up on their surroundings.
“Oscar, are you sure it’s this way?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Why do you keep going out to reconnaissance without telling us? People
said if you do something you don’t usually do, you will die… I call
dibs on your inheritance.”
“You son of a gun.”
“Do you even have any inheritance?”
The Barbarians exchanged banter to relieve the tension of the battle.
“Do we have to go and live in the Empire after the war? I was going to
live in Gorgon since it’s my hometown, but I think it’s going to be
completely uninhabitable soon.”
“Are you out of your mind? You want to live with the Empire jerks? The
Barbarians don’t settle down. We should go to the battlefield!”
“Lampion, say that after you get married and have a baby. I bet you’d
also want to settle down.”
“Traitors.”
Lampion was the Barbarian of the Barbarians. He used to say that he would
live and die on the battlefield like his father.
“The place where I die should have a sword, not a tombstone. That’s
what a Barbarian is. I don’t need a grave.”
“You really are something else.”
“Shush.”
Then, Oscar suddenly lowered his posture and raised his finger. The
Barbarians followed suit. It was a silent change. They took an
advantageous position, communicating only with their eyes and mouths.
‘Stop.’
‘It’s them.’
The black sorcerers gathered halfway up the mountain. There looked to be
a group of at least fifty. A thick, bloody smell lingered in the darkened
mountain. Let alone beasts, they could not even hear the sound of grass
bugs. A sharp wind blew like a sword through the scattered branches.
A low groan came out of Oscar’s mouth.
“Damn it…”
There were fifty or so black sorcerers, and they were all dead. Their
whole bodies turned into rags as if they had been mutilated by a sharp
weapon. They were torn to death without being able to properly rebel
against the executioner. The blood they shed had drenched the ground. The
still lingering heat escaped from their bodies. And with just a sniff of
their blood, the demonic beasts had begun to gather with their mouths
watering.
Who the hell did this? Who could kill so many black sorcerers at once in
such a cruel way?
“Demon…”
Using Domino’s muttered word as a sign, the Barbarians all clenched
their weapons. The demonic beasts, which had gathered after smelling the
blood, were backing away this time.
The perpetrator must still be there.
The blood-soaked ground cracked open, revealing a black door. It was the
gate to hell. In the deep darkness close to the abyss, the hungry demons
raised their heads with the sound of boiling blood.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Similar things happened all over the Gorgon Mountains Range. The first
was at the site of the slaughter of the black sorcerers, and the second
was at the place where demon worshippers held rituals with sacrifices.
The blood-soaked altar split apart and red monsters came out of it. It
was the Hell Corps. They ate the demon worshippers who bowed at them and
covered themselves with their victim’s blood. Then, they came down the
road and began to move toward the human city.
The last one was in the middle of the battlefield.
The Emperor and his loyal knights engaged in a fierce battle with the
huge king of demonic beasts. Some knights were already dead, while some
were badly injured to the point of immobility. The Emperor was also dirty
with dust and blood. Still, he did not back down.
The king of the demonic beasts was a beast of enormous size and
intelligence. With this in mind, the Imperial Army realized that they
should not just charge recklessly. And so, they spread out and grew their
distance between the beast.
“Aim for its legs!”
All they had to do was knock it down. Once they did so, the large beast
would find it hard to keep its body together. With a long heavy sword in
his hand, the Emperor rode his horse and left a long and deep wound on
the demonic beast’s hind leg. A huge amount of blood gushed out from
the demonic beast’s leg. The bloody smell filled the battlefield.
Howl.
The wounded demonic beast cried for a long time. It was a cry of anger
and vengeance. Its red horn turned to the Emperor.
“Your Imperial Majesty!”
“Dodge!”
The knights screamed.
The Emperor realized that he could not dodge the beast’s attack on time.
Despite staggering, the demonic beast only aimed at the Emperor. Drooling
with foam, it rushed straight at the Emperor even while being struck by
spears thrown by the knights. The ground rang, the sound of war was
deafening. Its bloodthirstiness became a heavy spear heading to the
Emperor’s heart. It attacked using the metal net, wrapping the
Emperor’s legs.
This is where I will die.
The Emperor recalled Acerus at that moment. He wondered if Acerus would
be proud of his father.
But just before the demonic beast’s horn pierced the Emperor’s chest,
its bones were crushed. It seemed to collapse from the inside.
Howl.
The demonic beast howled painfully. All the other demonic beasts
understood their king’s cry and began to run wild in fear.
The huge king of the demonic beasts.
A pair of long arms jutted out from its wound, and a vicious demon stuck
his head out from the body of the living demonic beast, breaking its
bones and tearing its hide.
The gates of hell were everywhere, red blood splattered all over. The
beast’s wound opened wide and spat out a demon, one that had a huge
size to match the demonic beast’s size. Compared to the demon, the
Emperor looked like a child in front of him.
A cold wind blew, the low-temperature of the breeze did not suit the
burning battlefield.
The demon waved his blood-soaked arms and smiled pleasantly. He swung his
arm at an invisible speed and slashed at everything around the chaotic
battlefield, including the Emperor, who stood the closest.
The Emperor’s head flew off, dropping to the ground.
“Your Imperial Majesty!!!”
An elderly knight came running with tears of blood. He was the knight who
said he would go to his hometown to farm potatoes after this fight. He
crawled across the ground with the Emperor’s head in his arms in
disbelief, struggling and crying. His liege, his comrade, and his friend,
whom he had devoted his whole life to, should not die in vain like that.
Starting with him, all the Emperor’s knights knelt on the ground and
let out a loud wail.
The sun of Tarragon.
The Emperor of the Empire had fallen.